“Our Duty to Obey”

Psalm 119:6: Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments.

 

How many politicians have had to resign in disgrace because they felt they did not have to live by the rules, or be faithful to the laws under which they operated.

            The Psalmist looks forward to the result of answered prayer, and feels that under divine guidance he will not be ashamed when he has respect for God’s commandments.

 Duty contemplates a regard for God’s law that would definitely impact moral susceptibility.  The wicked are callous, their hearts being hardened, and their wills set. 

The reward for obeying the commandments of God is simply that the person shall not be ashamed.  We have the New Testament warning that there will be those who will be  ashamed at the coming of Christ.   In First John, we read:  And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed at His coming.

God’s commandments also involve the shame element.  Yet, we are unable to keep those commandments without divine help.  Let us pray for that help.  When that help is there, let us utilize it diligently, comprehensively, and perpetually.

“Necessity of Prayer”

Psalm 119:5    Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes!

 

            Contemplating the breadth of God’s commandments in comparison with his own weaknesses, the Psalmist asks for divine help.

 

            This shows us the necessity of prayer.  The words “O That” indicate an earnest desire.  It is a necessity that is based on the psalmists inability to know what to do in regard to the direction of his life.  Truly, we need God’s direction.  How much better each day would be if we would begin in prayer for God's blessing and direction.

 

Verse 5 is a prayer also based on our forgetfulness—anxiety and self conceit often drive the most necessary things out of our mind.  Our hearts are naturally averse and our feet prone to wander from God’s statutes.  Thus the purpose of the prayer is that we would return and keep the statutes of the Lord. 

 

 God's call all through the prophetic books is summarized by the small Hebrew word: shub, meaning return.  This prayer is a call for each of us to return to the God and to the statutes contained in the Word of God.  May we as individuals and together as a nation return to the God of our fathers. 

 

Rejoice--this week people are talking about Jesus thanks to two unrelated events.  First, I have been told that the film Man of Steel makes direct application to Jesus Christ, something already criticized by liberal commentators.  it is a strong reference, repeated in different forms, and hard to miss.  Second, Nicki Wallenda, the great grandson of Karl Wallenda allowed his prayers and comments to be played live while he crossed over the Grand Canyon.  He too was criticized for his frequent references to Jesus.  His response was that he has been praying that since he was two years old.  We can win this world if we would be bold to proclaim our faith.  Now is the time to speak out!

“The Blessed Life”

 Psalm 119:1-3  Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord!  Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!  They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways.

 The word “blessed” means happy.  The pursuit of happiness is common to all peoples.  In his argument as to why there had to be a separation between England and the colonies, Jefferson said that God gives each person the natural right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Originally, Jefferson was going to use the French concept: life, liberty, and property, but it sounded so materialistic/atheistic.  But not, he did not say that all have the right to happiness, but to pursue happiness.

            Psalm 119:1 gives us the way to pursue happiness, and it is through living the life that is not defiled by the world.  Every person desires to be happy, but their means to attaining that end are temporal and sinful outside of God and His Word.  In the Sunday morning message we found that the enemy establishes strongholds in those areas of our life where we have desires that are not in keeping with God's Will or God's Word.

            The believer who pursues happiness will find it as he walks in the law of the Lord.  If one is walking according to the law of the Lord, then the path of truth will lead to inner peace.  When at peace with God, you find yourself happy, and thus you have attained “The Blessed Life.”

            Many times we do not have a right heart attitude.  A right heart contemplates the true end of happiness.  A right heart seeks happiness in the right way—doing those things pleasing to the Lord.

            The theme of Psalm 119 is the Word of God.  Right here in these first three verses we see established the fact that man’s happiness is to be found in the Word of God.  It tells us that man was originally happy; that angels and the spirits of just men are made perfect, and that God only can make men happy, and that He does so by the gift of himself and the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” 

            This is God’s testimony—His goodness and power; Christ’s atonement and intercession on our behalf; and the Holy Spirit’s regenerating, consoling, and sanctifying influence.  Rejoice in the Word this week—read it, pray it, meditate upon it, memorize it, and God will bless you.

“Praise Him”

 

Psalm 115:17-18—The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.  But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.  Praise the Lord

Praise God because He is Worthy of Praise

A.   The time to praise the Lord is while you are alive!

(v. 17; Psalm 103:1-5)

B.   When we bless the Lord, we ascribe honor and glory to Him—we cannot give blessing to God the same way He blesses us, but the love of our hearts and the praise of our lips is a sacrifice to Him that He will accept (v. 18)

1.     God does not need our blessing, but we need to bless God!

2.     As we bless the Lord from submissive and grateful hearts, we will grow spiritually; and as we grow, we discover more of His blessings.

3.     Praise will change things—not the circumstance, but the ability to overcome the circumstance.

“Reverence Him”

 

Psalm 115:12-16—The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron.  He will bless those who fear the Lord, Both small and great.  May the Lord give you increase more and more, you and your children.  May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lords; but the earth He has given to the children of men.

 

 

III.           Fear and Reverence the God who Blesses Us

A.   God cares and thinks about us, and when He makes promises to His people, He always keeps them.

1.      Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

2.     In Genesis, God remembered Noah (8:1); Abraham (19:29); Rachel (30:22); and Joseph (42:9). If we fear God, whether small or great, He will be mindful of us and work out His will in our lives.

B.    God blesses us (five times in these verses we have the words,  the blessing of God.

1.      A blessing is anything from the hand of God that is for our good and His glory, and that we can use in the service of others.

2.      The blessing most needed by Israel is stated in verse 14: people to work the fields and to protect the people.

“Trust Him”

Our question for the week: How should we properly respond to God?

A second answer—trust Him—is found in Psalm 115:9-11:

O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 

O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;

He is their help and their shield.

You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;

He is their help and their shield.

II. Trust Him because He is the God who Helps and Shields Us

A.  Setting:  These verses were to be song by the temple choirs with one choir singing one line and the other choir the next line.

B.   Three groups are addressed in these verses:

1.    The nation of Israel—their sin of idolatry had led them into captivity, but now they are summoned to trust the true and living God and experience victory! 

2.    The house of Aaron (priests and Levites) had every reason to trust the Lord, since they had the privilege of serving at the altar and ministering in the temple (Nehemiah 4:10-23).   The enemies of Israel during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah tried to do everything to stop the rebuilding of the city and the temple. 

3.    Those who fear the Lord refer to Gentile “God-fearers” who have turned from idolatry to serve the living and true God.  For them God will be a help and shield. Spurgeon said that too often we write our blessings in sand and engrave our trials in the marble.

God helps us because He loves us, and through the deliverance He will bring glory to His name.  Our experiences in life may be difficult, but if they glorify God, and help us to love and trust Him more, they have accomplished His purposes.

 

"How should we properly respond to God?  First Answer: Glorify Him!"

Psalm 115: 1-8  Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.  Why should the Gentiles say, So where is their God?  But our God is in heaven; He does whatever he pleases.  Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.  They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat.  Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.

I. Glorify Him because He is the Living God!  (115:1-8)

A.  Setting:  Jerusalem was in ruins from the destruction by the Babylonians a century earlier.  The people were demoralized, but the psalmist still gives glory to God.  The chastening of the nation of Israel was an evidence that God was true to His Word, and even in that chastening He remembered mercy (Habakkuk 3:2) (115:1-4)

B.   The Contrasts between God who made men and the idols that were made by men (vv. 5-7)

1.    They have no promises: “They have mouths, but they speak not” (v.. 5) --but we trust Jesus Christ and know the true and living God and are able to listen to His voice in His Word and have fellowship with Him!  Jesus pled with us to communicate with Him.  He says at one point: Up till now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.  Because he wishes to communicate with us, he notices when we don’t communicate with him.  He notices when we don’t take time to worship, and He notices when we don’t take time to pray.  He wants to bless us, but we need to be present, not missing in inaction. Sometimes we get caught up with things around us, and those things become the replacement for our God

2.    They offer no protection: “Eyes have they, but they see not” (v. 5) --God eyes are upon His children, and He watches over them—God never sleeps (Psalm 32:8; I Peter 3:12)  God is our high tower, He is our shield and Defender.  The man who has an idol has to watch over that no one steels it or damages it.  It is not protecting you, you are protecting it.  In the book of Judges, the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant, which was placed in the Temple of the Fish God, Dagon.  Each morning, they went in to find this great idol fallen down.  Finally after uprighting it several times, it fell and smashed into many pieces.  It was no God.

3.    They cannot hear prayer: “They have ears, but they hear not” (v. 6I Kings 18:26-29)  Elijah and the fact that Baal could not hear hundreds of priests crying out to him.

--God’s ears are open to our cries; He hears us when we call.   Larry King some time back had rock n’ roll guitarist Eric Clampton on his program.  He asked him about the song in which he says he will see his son again in heaven—child who fell from a balcony.  And Larry King asked:  How do you know there is a God?  Clampton responded in a quick second:  I talk to him every night on my knees at the foot of my bed.

4.    They are not able to receive praise: “Noses have they, but they smell not” A piece of wood cannot receive praise.

--God received the sacrifice and praise of Noah in Genesis 8:21

5.    They possess no power: “They have hands, but they handle not” (v. 7)

--God delivered Israel from Egypt with His strong hand (Exodus 6:6; 7:1-5)God’s hand is strong and mighty, and God’s fingers made the universe (Psalm 8:3)

6.    They have no presence with their followers (v. 7): “Feet have they, but they walk not”  Instead of carrying our burdens, false gods become a burden because they have to be carried about themselves.

(v. 7; Jeremiah 10:5)

              --Our God goes with us in every situation (Matthew 28:20)  Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, God with us.

C.   The Reality Check:  You become like the one you worship! (v. 8)

1.    If we worship idols made by man, we are worshipping man’s creation (Romans 1:21).  If we fail to worship God, we might as well be worshiping idols.

2.    If we read God’s Word and trust His promises, depend on His protection, pray, praise Him, and draw on His power, then the blessing of those who know God belong to us!

Psalm 115

This week we will have a series on Psalm 115 that will answer the question: How Should We Properly Respond to God?

 

Introduction

          Written during the period of restoration under Ezra and Nehemiah, the writer of this Psalm observes the contest that goes on between the truth as contained in God’s Word, and error that comes from the superstitions of men.  The people the Psalm is written to were somewhat defeated.  The nation had been taken over by the Babylonians, and the people had been living there in captivity for 70 years.  They finally come home, and everything was run down—everything was wrong---certainly nothing to praise God about.  This psalm challenges us to understand what God is really like, and then to respond to Him in the right way.  The writer makes four declarations about God, and then invites us to respond to God in a proper way.  Studying Psalm 115 will greatly enhance your own spiritual life.  Tomorrow we will begin the first declaration.  Read Psalm 115 in anticipation.  Here are the first verse, one of the most blessed in all of Scripture;  Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.

The Necessity of Thanks and Giving

(Response to Psalm 100--Notice all the passages as you go through this outline that amplify the profound thoughts of Psalm 100!)

Psalm 100:  Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!  Swerve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God; It is he who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

A.   Like the Pilgrims, we thank the Lord because we know the nature of mercy (Phil. 4:11-13)

1.     David appointed certain Levites to continually thank God (I Chronicles 16:4)

2.     Thanks should be on our lips daily (Psalm 92:1-2)

3.     Thanks for answered prayer (Psalm 138:1)

4.     Thanks for the Unspeakable gift of the Lord Jesus Christ (II Cor. 9:15; Luke 17:15)

 

B.   Like the Pilgrims, we give because of the mercies of God to us (Lamentations 3:22)

1.     Everything we have is a gift from God, and He expects us to cheerfully give back to Him (Deuteronomy 16:17)

2.     Our giving must involve a sacrifice (I Chronicles 21:22-24)

 

“The Nature of Thanks and Giving”

Psalm 100:3-5  Know that the Lord, He is God; It is he who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

A.   True Thanksgiving is a matter of Knowledge

1.     That the Lord is the only living and true God (v. 3)

2.     That He is our Creator—we did not make ourselves

3.     That He is our Rightful Owner

4.     That He is our Sovereign Ruler (v. 4)

5.     That He is our bountiful benefactor

6.     That He is a God of infinite mercy and goodness (v. 5)

7.     That He is a God of truth and faithfulness

B.   True Thanksgiving Can Never Cease, because God is everlasting (v. 5)

1.     God is not mere justice, stern and cold; He has compassion—wants us to repent!

2.     Toward His own people mercy is displayed—it has been theirs from all eternity, and shall be theirs world without end.  That is our sacred song.

"Look Up"

 “Look Up—The Final Answer for All of Us”

Psalm 73:16-22  When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me---   Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.  Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.  Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!  They are utterly consumed with terrors.  As a dream when one awakes, So Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image.  Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind.  I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. 

Looking around only made the psalmist envious at the success of the wicked, and looking within only brought up a personal turmoil and unrest—so the psalmist does the right thing in taking the matter to the throne of God (vv. 16-17)

A.   Insights gained when we turn to God

1.    Understanding regarding the destiny of the wicked (v. 17-20)

a.     The future judgment of the wicked involved their destruction and desolation (vv. 18-19; Matthew 16:26; Matthew 25:41)

b.    The future judgment will involve a reckoning by God of their sins; which at present it seems as if God is asleep as He allows the wicked to continue

2.    Insight into the mind of the Psalmist (vv. 21-22)

a.     Asaph’s (the psalmist) problem was that he had employed the same standards of measuring success and values as the world used.

b.    Asaph realized that his wrong thinking was about to lead him to wrong living (living like a pagan without a Christian outlook).  He had not acted like a believer created in the image of God.

"Look Around"

"Look Around—See Where We Stand in Relation to the Wicked"

Psalm 73:2-12  But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped.  For I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  For there areno pangs in their death, but their strength is firm.  They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men.  Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.  Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish.  They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily.  They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth.  Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them.  And they say, How does God know?  And is there knowledge in the Most High?  Behold, these are the ungodly.  Who are always at ease; they increase in riches.

A.  This step is seen as a mistake because it makes his faith insecure (v. 2)

B.   He is envious of the prosperity of the wicked (vv. 3-5)—The Psalmist felt that the ungodly had prosperity, meaning they were well-fed, comfortable.  The ungodly enjoyed good health, while believers suffered from sickness and did not know how they would pay the doctor bills.

C.   He is upset because of the pride of the wicked (vv. 6-9)—The wicked did not give God the credit for their success, but rather took all the glory to themselves.

D.  He is disturbed by the popularity of the wicked (vv. 10-12)-The world worships those successful people and runs after them.  The worldly crowd worships wealth and success.  Who is on the cover of the magazines?  Brad and Angelina or the missionary that works all his life in Guatemala?

How do you answer these people.  How do you witness to a world that sees the godless prosper while the godly suffer?  Is it really worth it to be a believer?

 

"Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?"

 

Psalm 73:1  Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart.

 

Questions the Psalmist Addresses:

1.    Why is there evil in the world? Some people solve the problem by denying that evil exists, but substitutes illusion for fact.  And then some just plain deny that God exists.   Matthew Henry said that the Psalmist Asaph got the victory by degrees. As you understand the various stages that  the writer went through in his struggle, you will better grasp the solution to this perennial problem of evil in the world.

2.    Why do bad things happen to good people?

3.    How do you witness to a world that sees the godless prosper?

4.    Is it worth it to be a believer?

 

The Psalmist struggles with the problem of evil in the world in this Psalm, and it is only by going through several steps that he reaches a victory in understanding the dilemma.

 

“Look Back—Affirm Our Faith in God’s Past Goodness”

A.  It is good to believe in God, but better to believe that God is good—the writer affirms the faith as he looks back at the history of Israel.

B.   The history of Israel was a record of the goodness of God, and the writer knew it. 

1.    God made a covenant with Israel that He would bless and care for them if they would glorify Him by obeying His Law

2.    The Psalmist knew that God wanted obedience to that covenant from the heart

But now here is the problem.  Asaph was a faithful Jew, obedient to the Law, and he had a pure heart and clean hands.  But he was enjoying the goodness of God in his life.  His godless neighbors were in better shape materially and physically than he was.  Was there something wrong with his life that he could not see?  Sounds like Job.  How could he escape?

 

"Valuable Lessons from Psalm 73: Why Bad Things Happen to God's People"

 Psalm 73 indeed teaches us some valuable lessons.  To begin with, it encourages us to walk by faith and not by sight. 

 God’s Word  is true no matter what our circumstances might look life. 

It also encourages us to get the long view of things and not to abandon the eternal for the temporal. 

 Most of all, Asaph reminds us that we need to spend time with God in worship and spiritual evaluation.  We need to live with eternity’s values in view, and this comes from fellowship with the Lord.  We do not live by explanations, we live by promises and God’s promises become real to us as we grow in our relationships with Him.

 When good things seem to be happening to bad people, don’t get envious of the people or critical of God.  Just find out what good things God wants to do for His good people, and let Him work.

“Look Ahead—With God’s Blessing and Perspective”

Psalm 73:23-28—Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand.  You will guide me with Your counsel; and afterward receive me to glory.  Whom have I in heaven but You?  And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.  My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  For indeed, those who are far from you shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert you for harlotry.  But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works.

A.  From worshiping God, the psalmist is able to evaluate his own future (vv. 23-24)

1.    Present—“I am continually with Thee”

2.    Past—“Thou hast held me by my right hand”

3.    Future—“Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”

B.   From being in God’s presence, Asaph was able to evaluate time in light of eternity and earth in the light of heaven (vv. 25-26; Philippians 1:21).  People have the mistaken idea that eternal life is simply endless time, an unlimited quantity of years.  Eternal life is beyond time, it is the very life of God in the believer today.  When you trust Jesus Christ, you receive eternal life, so that, for you, heaven has already begun within your own heart.  You are living in time, but enjoying eternity.  God is with us, God is holding us, God is guiding us, and one day God will usher us into glory. 

C.  From asking God to make sense of things, Asaph changed—he went from having slippery feet to coming into a strong faith.  Remember what Paul said in Philippians 1:21. Remember Jim Elliot, who was killed over 50 years ago as a young missionary in Ecuador. (Jim met his wife at Wheaton College in the 1950's, as my parents did in the 1920's,)  Elliot said:  He is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.  Have the right values of life and death. 

“The Final Answer for All of Us”

Psalm 73:16-22   If I had said, I will speak thus, Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of your children.  When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me.  Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.  Surely you set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.  Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!  They are utterly consumed with terrors.  As a dream when one awakes, so Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image.  Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind.  I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.

A.   Looking around only made the psalmist envious at the success of the wicked, and looking within only brought up a personal turmoil and unrest—so the psalmist does the right thing in taking the matter to the throne of God (vv. 16-17).  We often want to take matters into our own hands, and the end result is that the situation is worse than it had been before.  Like King Hezekiah, we should spread before the Lord that upsetting letter, person, or situation, and let God bring the deliverance.  If all is done for God’s glory, there will be an answer that will glorify and praise His mighty Name. 

B.   Insights gained when we turn to God

1.    Understanding regarding the destiny of the wicked (v. 17-20)

a.     The future judgment of the wicked involved their destruction and desolation (vv. 18-19; Matthew 16:26; Matthew 25:41)

b.    The future judgment will involve a reckoning by God of their sins; which at present it seems as if God is asleep as He allows the wicked to continue

2.    Insight into the mind of the Psalmist (vv. 21-22)

a.     Asaph’s (the psalmists) problem was that he had employed the same standards of measuring success and values as the world used.

b.    Asaph realized that his wrong thinking was about to lead him to wrong living (living like a pagan without a Christian outlook).  He had not acted like a believer created in the image of God.  May God help you this week not to fall into Asaph’s thinking.  Stand firm for the Lord.